According to data from the Low-Speed Automated Driving Industry Alliance (LSAD) and statistics from the New Strategy Low-Speed Automated Driving Industry Research Institute, as of the end of June 2026, China’s cumulative shipments of unmanned mining transport vehicles reached nearly 8,500 units (excluding those in operation).
Back in mid-2024, this number was only around 2,100 units. However, cumulative shipments have quadrupled in two years, with annual increases jumping from “thousands of units” to “several thousand units.” Deployments of hundreds of units have gone from “news” to commonplace, with the largest single-mine fleet reaching nearly 700 units, and deployments of thousands of units are becoming a new competitive threshold. Technology is beginning to spill over, with companies starting to expand overseas. Capitalization is accelerating simultaneously, with a concentrated IPO cluster effect…
In the past two years, policy, market, and capital have combined to drive the industry forward. The unmanned mining sector has truly moved beyond the demonstration phase and is beginning to see a turning point in realizing economies of scale.
Firstly, the policy system is gradually shifting from “encouragement” to “hard thresholds” for the deployment of unmanned technology.
In April 2024, the National Mine Safety Administration and six other departments issued the “Guiding Opinions on Deepening the Intelligent Construction of Mines and Promoting the Safe Development of Mines,” which stipulated that by 2026, the replacement rate of intelligent equipment or robots in dangerous and heavy-duty positions in coal mines and non-coal mines should be no less than 30% and 20%, respectively.
The newly revised “Coal Mine Safety Regulations,” which came into effect on February 1, 2026, systematically incorporated content related to intelligent construction for the first time, explicitly stipulating that remotely controlled and unmanned operating equipment must possess status monitoring, monitoring of surrounding personnel, equipment, and environment, fault detection, automatic avoidance, and emergency stop functions.
In August 2026, the “15th Five-Year Plan for the Coal Industry” was issued, proposing that by 2030, the proportion of intelligent coal mine production capacity should increase to 75%, and explicitly requiring the promotion of the normalized and reliable operation of intelligent systems such as the unmanned train operation of open-pit mine trucks.
It can be clearly observed that the policy-making pace has shifted from “setting targets” to “setting standards” and then to “setting operational quality,” leading to a comprehensive market-driven transition of unmanned driving in mining areas.
Secondly, market deployment patterns and business models are being restructured simultaneously.
In terms of overall market implementation, the number of mining areas achieving deployments of 100 unmanned mining trucks per mine has further increased. According to data from the LSAD and statistics from the New Strategy Low-Speed Automated Driving Industry Research Institute, nearly 20 open-pit mines have achieved deployments of 100 unmanned mining trucks per mine to date, and five more mining areas are expected to reach the goal of deploying 100 trucks per mine within the next 1-3 years. Among them, the Guanghui Baishihu Open-Pit Coal Mine and the Guanghui Malang No. 1 Open-Pit Coal Mine projects have both achieved deployments of over 600 unmanned mining trucks.
Regarding enterprise deployment, the industry is collectively moving towards a window of opportunity for large-scale implementation. Companies such as EACON, Boonray, and CiDi have deployed over 1,000 unmanned mining trucks. EACON alone has deployed over 3,500 unmanned mining trucks, achieving routine operation in over 40 mines worldwide.
In terms of business models, asset-light operation has become mainstream. Leasing models and “transportation as a service” are gradually replacing one-time equipment purchases, and enterprise revenue is shifting from project-based to long-term subscription-based. Technology spillover is occurring simultaneously, with mining area perception and dispatch capabilities migrating to scenarios such as ports and steel mill short-haul operations.
Furthermore, capitalization and overseas expansion are creating a dual-engine synergy.
From 2025 to 2026, the unmanned mining sector saw a rare cluster of IPOs: Breton, CiDi, and EACON all listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, while Infinite Mining and Boonray will submit their IPO applications. Primary market financing remains hot, with industrial capital such as Zijin Mining, CATL, BYD, and TONLY forming closer ecosystem partnerships through shareholding and deep integration with companies.
Overseas expansion is moving from sporadic validation to strategic deployment: Since 2026, EACON has established a presence in Australia; CiDi has partnered with MMD in the UK; Boonray has secured a pilot project with Vale; and Titan Driverless and Waytous continue to expand into the Middle East and Southeast Asia markets. Sany Smart Mining’s unmanned mining truck project has landed in South America… The pace of overseas expansion continues to accelerate, further expanding its overseas footprint.
Standing at this critical crossroads, it’s essential to pause and reflect:
After the phasing out of policy incentives, what will sustain growth?
With the widespread deployment of unmanned mining trucks, where exactly do companies’ competitive barriers lie?
How can an asset-light model generate positive cash flow?
For companies expanding overseas, is cost advantage or localization capabilities the anchor?
The answers to these questions can only emerge through repeated interactions on the front lines of the industry. On September 3, 2026, at the Shanxi Xiaohe International Conference and Exhibition Center, the “2nd Conference on the Engineering Application of Unmanned Mining Trucks & the Conference on the Industry Linkage of Specialized Mining Robots 2026,” hosted by the LSAD, will directly address these issues.
At the conference, Jinke Li, Secretary-General of the LSAD and Director of the New Strategy Low-Speed Automated Driving Industry Research Institute, will deliver a keynote speech on “Scaled Operation Data of Smart Mines,” dissecting the real ROI from thousands to tens of thousands of units and the market survival rules after the phasing out of policy incentives.
Instead of chasing order numbers, let’s first figure out the costs and benefits behind large-scale deployment. Join us in Taiyuan on September 3 to embark on the next phase of unmanned technology in mining areas.
For registration, click https://luma.com/ichxmpcc.
